Unapologetically Marie

Writer, podcaster, mental health advocate

Home » laughter

laughter

9 Ways to improve your mindset (E104)

by

Happiness for Cynics podcast

Join Marie and Pete this week as they discuss 9 ways to improve your mindset and live a longer, happier, and more productive life.

Show notes

Sleep deprivation and genes

Study reveals sleep deprivation is associated with lower DNA repair gene expression and more breaks in DNA. The damage to DNA may explain the increased risk of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases in those who are sleep deprived.

Sleep is your superpower – Matt Walker

Transcript

[Happy intro music -background] 

M: Welcome to happiness for cynics and thanks for joining us as we explore all the things I wish I’d known earlier in life but didn’t. 

P: This podcast is about how to live the good life. Whether we’re talking about a new study or the latest news or eastern philosophy, our show is all about discovering what makes people happy. 

M: So, if you’re like me and you want more out of life, listen in and more importantly, buy in because I guarantee if you do, the science of happiness can change your life. 

P: Plus, sometimes I think we’re kind of funny. 

[Intro music fadeout] 

P: Hi!

M: Welcome back.

P: Here we are.

M: Here we are again!

P: Laugh, and again and again and again.

M: Every week, laugh.

P: Encore une fois. [Once more] Laugh!

M: So, what are we talking about today, Pete?

P: Ooh! What are we talking about today? The nine ways to build a positive mindset.

M: Are you sure we have nine?

P: I’ll invent one, laugh. I’ll create one.

M: Laugh.

P: Just give me five minutes, laugh.

M: Love it. All right, positive mindset.

P: Mmm.

M: What are the reasons why you want a positive mindset?

P: Because unhappy people die?

M & P: Laugh!

M: I don’t know why we laugh so hard.

P: Laugh, it’s our catchphrase!

M: It’s not really appropriate, laugh. [But] yes, they tend to not live as long, how about that.

P: But a positive mindset also has positive implications for your health.

M: Yes.

P: There’s a lot of studies that support that outwardly positive and, um, uh –

M: Optimistic.

P: – optimistic was the word I was looking for. People live better quality of lives and have better health outcomes.

M: Absolutely. And the research shows that you can train your brain to think more positively.

P: Yes.

M: So, if you balance negative thoughts with positive thoughts, then you can change your mindset. So, really, this is about creating those neural pathways in your brain again that we’ve talked about to counterbalance.

P: Mmm.

M: What is a natural tendency to think things are bad in a lot of people? Some people are just natural optimists, and they born that way. Or they grow up and learn that.

P: Yep.

M: A lot of us do tend to spend a lot of time ruminating over things or thinking about all the negatives. And we’ve seen a huge increase in anxiety and depression in all people around the world since, you know over the last 20 years or so. And so actively and proactively, creating a positive mindset or balancing your negative thoughts with positive thoughts is so important to learn how to do.

P: It also creates opportunity.

M: Yes, if you see a door opening and someone else sees the door shutting. You know, there’s two outcomes.

P: There are, yeah.

M: Two very different outcomes from that.

P: Yep. It’s a positive feedback loop.

M: Yeah, absolutely. So, you mentioned that they live healthier and longer. So, we do know that research shows that optimists tend to have healthier lives and lower risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease as the pessimists.

P: Yep.

M: And on the flip side, pessimists tend to have shorter telomeres.

P: Ah ha ha ha. What are telomeres?

M: Laugh.

P: Shorter bracelets!

M: Laugh. As we discussed a few episodes ago, that means that pessimists age faster.

P: Yes.

M: So, cells with shorter telomeres circulate and release large amounts of inflammatory proteins that contribute to inflammation, which is a mechanism of ageing.

P: So, if you don’t want wrinkles, you want long telomeres.

M: Yes.

P: Add some more beads to your bracelet.

M: By changing your mindset and becoming more positive.

P: Yes.

M: All right, what else we got?

P: Oh. I’m leading? I’m going on this one.

M: So, Pete hasn’t done his homework.

P: Oh, rude!

M: Laugh.  

P: Laugh, so rude.

M: You’ll be less stressed. So, people who have positive mindsets cope with the day-to-day turmoil of life better, and they’re also less anxious and less likely to suffer from depression. And so, I think throughout Covid, there have been two very different yet typical responses.

P: Mmm.

M: There are those who have thrived throughout Covid, who have had the skills and the knowledge and the self-awareness to find ways to be positive and proactive about their mental health and their physical health and everything that their body needs. And you’ve had a lot of people who floundered.

P: It’s the same is dealing with crises in general, really, isn’t it?

M: Mmm hmm.

P: There are those people that deal with crisis better or deal with it in a proactive way in a positive.

M: Rise to the challenge.

P: Yeah, and it is. It’s the way you interpret it, as we’ve talked about before, stress is an interpretation. And some people will see a crisis as an opportunity to exercise their brain muscles or their opportunistic, outwardly going selves… don’t know where I was going with that.

M: Laugh.

P: I was reaching, totally reaching.

M & P: Laugh!

P: But yeah, it’s about looking at the situation going right, ‘I’m going to take this. I’m going to drive with this challenge and see where I end up’, as opposed to those who were running away from the tidal wave going, ‘No! Don’t come at me!’

M: Or those who don’t know that they have to take action and therefore end up in a situation that they didn’t know they needed to avoid.

P: Yes, they’re not enabled.

M: Yep, absolutely. And then, lastly, do you want to go now?

P: Yeah. I’m up to the page now, laugh.

M: You’re reading your notes.

P: I was reading Harry Potter before.

M & P: Laugh!

M: If you’re not going to be interested in our show, no one else will be.

P & M: Laugh!

P: You’ll be more successful, yay!

M: Yay, third benefit of a positive mindset. So, tell us what the science says here.

P: Well, compared to pessimists, optimists are more successful. They create social connections. They create communities, they engage with people which allows for more opportunities. They’re also more successful in issues such as marriages –

M: Marriage is an issue?

P: Issues? Yeah.

M: Laugh!

P: It’s an issue. Sure, why not?

M: I’m going to tell my husband he’s an issue. Laugh.

P: There’s a cat next to me. Of course, I’m getting flustered.

M & P: Laugh.

M: So, they’re more successful. There’s a great book by Shawn Achor that makes the case and shows the science behind optimists being more successful in school, at work and in athletics. So, people who are more positive just do better at life.

P: Mmm.

M: Not only at issues like marriage.

P: Laugh! Well, some marriages are an issue.

M & P: Laugh!

M: Very true. Maybe you don’t want to be successful at those.

P & M: Laugh.

M: Alright, so how can you build a positive mindset? Let’s get to our nine, our nine steps.

P: Oh, can we get to number nine first? Because that’s the fun one.

M: How about we leave that right for the end?

P: Aww, but it’s so good!

M: Laugh.

P: Stay tuned, folks. It’s gonna get better!

M: All right, number one, no brainer. It’s get good sleep.

P: Yes, we talked about this a lot. Just one hour of sleep deprivation has big impacts on our genetics on our ability to re-create cells, our regeneration, all those big things.

M: On our genes.

P: On our genes?

M: Not our genetics, they’re set from birth.

P: Uh, no, they do have some impact on … our genetic code.

M: On our genes.

P: Yes… Oh, I see I’m sorry. OK, I got it wrong, I’m just going to be quiet now.

M: Laugh! But we understand what you’re trying to say here.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: It impacts you right down to the cellular level.

P: There we go. Keep talking.

M: Yeah, also, I don’t know about you, but I am just grumpy as all get up after a bad night’s sleep.

P: Laugh.

M: I’m not fun to be around. And I find it really hard to be an optimist if I haven’t gotten enough sleep.

P: Mmm, yeah. Resilience is always low when you don’t have enough sleep as well. You’re just not firing on all cylinders. You’re not seeing opportunities. You’re not seeing those. You’re not resilient enough to actually turn things into an opportunity rather than going, ‘Oh my God, my life sucks!’

M: Yep, or falling apart. You lose your resilience. So global consulting firm McKinsey, has done a bit of work on this in the past few months, and they’re arguing that sleep is an important organisational topic that requires specific and urgent attention.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: And it is so true. We have this hyper connected, always on world and this expectation now that everything has gone digital, that people can answer a call or an email 24/7 and that constant low-level stress is impacting our sleep. And also, people are sending messages and emails at all times of the day and night.

P: Mmm yeah.

M: And we need to change that work culture in order to enable people to have better sleep.

P: Yeah, there’s a really good Ted talk on this by Matt Walker. If anyone wants to look it up, it talks a lot about sleep being your superpower.

M: Mmm,

P: Really good on this topic.

M: Absolutely. All right, number two.

P: Number two.

M: Limit social media.

P: Ooh, I love this one.

M: Yeah, you do. This is your favourite, isn’t it?

P: Yeah. Get off Facebook people.

M: Laugh.

P: It’s evil!

M: Even before Covid social media was well ingrained in most societies around the world. So, in Australia in January 2019, there are 18 million active users of social media websites. Facebook is the most popular with 16 million monthly users in the US, about 70% of adults say they use Facebook, and YouTube. And Instagram and Snapchat are growing in popularity.

P: Mmm.

M: It is such an important part of modern life, and I think people definitely feel FOMO [Fear of Missing Out]. They feel like they’re missing out if they’re not on these channels that everyone around them is using. But the problem is excessive social media use leads to increased depression, anxiety, loneliness, sleeplessness, and many other mental health issues.

P: Yep.

M: And so, if you want to be an optimist and positive, you really need to take control of that social media use and not let it control you and your moods.

P: Be an active user and not a passive user.

M: Yeah, absolutely. All right number three of ways to change your mindset.

P: [Mickey Mouse voice] Surround yourself with positive people, yay!

M: I think we’re doing well on this one.

P: Laugh! Like attracts like they say.

M: Yes.

P: So, bringing positive people into your sphere of influence means that you’re going to be more inclined to pick up on those vibrational, energetic connections. Oh, she’s getting down!

M & P: Laugh.

M: Talking energy.

P: Here we go, we’re going there. Cough-meditation-cough!

M: Laugh!

So, speaking about positive people, one of the best things that you can do with positive people is laugh.

P: Ah, yes. Laughter is contagious.

M: It is, it is. In a recent New York Times article, researchers found that people laugh five times as often when they’re with others, as when they’re alone.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: So, you’ll find if you’re watching a funny movie by yourself, you won’t laugh as much as if you’re watching a funny movie with friends or in a movie theatre. Because, as you mentioned, laughter is contagious.

P: See I’m the person that laughs out loud on his own.

M & P: Laugh!

M: But you won’t laugh as much as when other people are around.

P: True. I also laugh on public transport.

M: Laugh!

P: Maybe that’s my public laughter. I’ll just burst out… usually into song, but laughter as well.

M: Pete believes he’s in a musical.

P: My life is a musical.

M & P: Laugh!

M: The other thing to think about also is humour and the appreciation of humour. So, humour is one of the few things that is observed in all cultures and at all ages. And a lot of research has gone into humour more recently. And it’s one of the top five strengths of happy people, actually.

P: Ahh.

M: So, if you look at Martin Seligman and his work on strengths, you can actually do a lot of that online for free and work out what your strengths are. But if humour is one of your top five, you’re more likely to be happier and more likely to be an optimist.

P: So, Patch Adams was right.

M: Absolutely.

P: Humour is the best medicine. Or was that laughter is the best medicine?

M: Both? Both is fine.

P: We’ll take it.

M & P: Laugh.

M: All right. The next one is really important I think, especially when we talk about happiness and the importance of happiness. Really important, though number four, don’t suppress negative emotions.

P: Yep, they’re there for a reason.

M: Mmm hmm. One of the biggest misconceptions about the positive psychology movement is that people should always aim to be happy, and negative emotions are to be avoided. It’s a load of rubbish.

P: Yep, no. Can’t avoid them. They’re going to be there. They’re going to come up. You have to process them.

M: Absolutely. So, firstly, being happy all the time is impossible. We don’t live in a trouble-free world. And secondly, trying to suppress negative emotions can be really detrimental for mental health. So, the reality is, life is messy and sad and not what we expect and disappointing as well as good and beautiful and all of the other positive emotions. And we really need to make sure that we’re having an appropriate reaction to the situation.

P: Mmm yeah, that’s a good word. Appropriate.

M: Yeah, and that means processing negative events and emotions in a healthy way so you can move forward.

P: And having the skills to do that. And sometimes to have those skills, you need to do a little bit of work behind that.

M: Yep.

P: You actually need to spend some time contemplating, reading around it, going ‘how do I feel about grief? How do I feel about death? How am I going to process that when it comes to call or when it affects my life?’ And if you’ve done a little bit of that background work, it becomes a little bit easier to process your negative emotions and then by processing you get to the other side a little bit more easily.

M: Yeah, and two really good ways to help processes, journaling and talking to people, talking about it.

P: Yeah.

M: Number five.

P: Let’s exercise. [Starts singing] Let’s get physical, physical.

M & P: [Singing] I want to get physical.

P: [High pitched singing] Let’s get into physical!

M: Laugh!

P: There we go, musical theatre degree. Olivia was right.

M: Laugh, oh dear.

P: Movement and exercise if you didn’t get what that was about people.

M & P: Laugh.

P: Moving is good.

M: Absolutely.

P: Motion is lotion. Boom, Boom! Laugh. Thank you, Dan Horne.

M & P: Laugh.

M: So not only are there physical benefits to moving in exercise, but it’s great for your mood and your mental state. So, if you want to increase your positive vibes, if you want to become more of an optimist or increase your positive mindset, go get some exercise into your week or your day. And it doesn’t have to be a lot.

P: Nope.

M: But exercising releases dopamine nor-adrenaline and serotonin, and they’re all the happy drugs.

P: Happy drugs, laugh.

M: So, if we’re talking mindset and positive mindset, this is the fastest way to trick your brain into being happy.

P: Absolutely. You can do that really simply by getting yourself up and shaking the crap out of yourself, literally getting up and vibrating and throwing your arms around and getting really, really elevated with your heart rate.

M: Dance.

P: Actually, dance is one of the best ones. I wasn’t gonna go there because, you know I’m biased towards dance. But yeah, literally jumping up and down for 30 seconds is enough to actually get those endorphins going.

M: Yep, absolutely. All right, number six,

P: Learn something new.

M: I’ve got a quote.

P: Oh.

M: Einstein.

P: Mmm.

M: Mmm hmm. So, he famously said,

“The important thing is to never stop questioning.”

– [Albert Einstein]

M: And he was really smart.

P: Laugh! He was a scientist.

M: Don’t know if he was happy.

P & M: Laugh!

M: But I love the quote.

P: Laugh, he had crazy hair.

M: It is so important to add new things into your environment. So novel things. We’ve spoken about this before and learning a new skill or giving yourself something where you have autonomy and ownership over getting deeper experience and better skills at something is a great way to do that.

P: Mmm.

M: So, when we say learning, you could simply read a book or watch a documentary, you could listen to Ted talks. You could join a class. Or a course, you don’t have to go to a university degree there’s plenty of free classes out there and lots of micro learning nowadays as well. So, you could learn how to put floating shelves on your wall. Or you could go to your local TAFE and do a mechanics course and everything in between.

P: Yep, totally agree. I’m there, laugh.

M: And you know, you’ve just started back at university again, late life haven’t you.

P: Yep.

M: Does that –

P: Oh, huge amounts of mission and purpose.

M: Yep.

P: When we talk about mission and purpose is being one of the pillars of our happiness building. It’s so true because you wake up and you’ve got somewhere to go and somewhere to be, laugh.

M: I found one of the best parts of UNI was just the conversations you have. You have these new ideas running through your head and you’re wrapping your head around your values and how they fit into these new ideas and whether you believe them or not, and you’re forming your own ideas and bouncing them off other people.

It was one of the favourite things was sitting out in the quad on the grass, sometimes with the beer.

P: Laugh.

M: Often with a beer.

P & M: Laugh.

M: And debating these new ideas that we were discovering every day.

P: Yeah, I like the idea of it being reflective. It’s around your values and beliefs. I mean, that’s a great thing, because it does challenge your values and beliefs as well. And that’s a really great way to provide self-reflective practise.

M: Yep, and there are multiple studies and pieces of research that suggests that consistent curiosity goes hand in hand with happiness.

P: Yep.

M: Yep. All right, number seven.

P: Getting outdoors.

M: Ahh.

P: [Singing] Forest bathing.

M: Laugh. It’s the little things right. Taking a walk can have such a huge impact on your mental health and make you happier.

P: Yep, yeah. Go out and hug a tree. Sniff a leaf.

M: Yep. So, the studies show that brain structure and mood improved when we spend time outdoors, and this has positive implications for concentration, memory and overall psychological wellbeing. Also, when you get outdoors, it’s not only the trees and the air, but it’s also the light. So having more sunlight in your day has been shown to improve sleeplessness and mood. So, if you have insomnia, get outside.

P: Yeah, definitely.

M: Number eight.

P: Oh, you take this one. This is yours.

M: Gratitude!

P: Laugh.

M: Practise gratitude. And as we said before, it’s about rewiring your brain so that it’s not constantly focusing on the negative, and the science is really clear on this one. Practising gratitude makes you happier and less stress… Less stressed.

P: Laugh.

M: It leads to higher overall wellbeing satisfaction with your life and social relationships, so making it part of even just a weekly practise can give you all of those benefits and help you balance that negative way of thinking with some more positive and over time, that reinforces, and you start seeing more positive things in your day to day.

P: Yeah.

M: All right, Pete, and what’s your made up number nine?

P: It’s not made up, it’s backed by science.

M & P: Laugh.

P: Drink champagne! Laugh!

M: I think, I think this is my favourite way to improve your mindset.

P: So, a recent study came out in The Guardian in the UK that was talking about when we reach the alcohol, what it is that we’re doing. And studies showed that most people will have a drink when they’re actually feeling happier. So, alcohol can actually lead us to being a little bit more contented. Sure, there is the flip side of that where we do reach for the bottle as a negative coping mechanism for depression or grief or whatever.

But on the whole, most people will have a glass of wine or a beer in the day to increase their happiness.

M: Sorry. Just to be clear, the study showed that people are more likely to drink when they’re happy.

P: Yes.

M: Not the other way around. Not the flip way. So, there’s no causality. Yeah, there’s no causality here.

P: Champagne makes me happy.

M: Laugh.

P: I hear a pop and I’m ready, laugh.

M: Unless you’re Pete.

P & M: Laugh!

P: We don’t want to be encouraging people to be alcoholics.

M: No. [meaning yes] And if you’re feeling sad, reaching for the bottle isn’t going to make you happy.

P: No, that doesn’t work. If you’re already negative, then no.

M: So, I guess what we’re saying is, if you’re happy, you’re more likely to have a drink.

P: Don’t berate yourself if you’re going to have a glass of wine out in the sunshine when you’re out sniffing the trees or being in the ocean whilst expressing gratitude and having a sleep.

M & P: Laugh.

P: All the nine steps above. It’s okay, laugh.

M: And on that note, we’ll finish up for the week. Thanks for joining us again.

P: Have a happy week.

M: And stay cynical.

[Happy exit music – background] 

M: Thanks for joining us today if you want to hear more, please remember to subscribe and like this podcast and remember you can find us at www.marieskelton.com, where you can also send in questions or propose a topic. 

P: And if you like our little show, we would absolutely love for you to leave a comment or rating to help us out. 

M: Until next time. 

M & P: Choose happiness. 

[Exit music fadeout] 

Want to learn more about the science of happiness? Make sure to subscribe to my podcast Happiness for Cynics and weekly email newsletter for regular updates and news!  

Please note that I may get a small commission if you buy something from my site. Your support helps to keep this site going at no additional cost to you. Thanks! 

Yep, laughter really is the best medicine

by

Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

Is laughter the best medicine? I’m going to say yes! Last week, I attended a lunchtime webinar by the Centre for Optimism and listened to an amazing panel of experts talk about laughter, optimism, resilience and wellbeing… and I’m still buzzing!

In particular, I learned from La Trobe University’s adjunct profession Ros Ben-Moshe about the science behind laughter and we did a short but very effective laughter yoga exercise that had me grinning like a Cheshire cat for the rest of the afternoon. While still high on laughter, I signed up for Ros’ upcoming 5-week virtual course at La Trobe Laughter, Resilience and Wellbeing.

I’ve known for a while about the power of laughter to boost your mood and bring joy – it’s a bit of a no brainer really. But what I hadn’t stopped to think about for a very long time was actively integrating laughter into my week to increase my base happiness and wellbeing levels. This is going to change!

In this article, I’m exploring whether laughter really is the best medicine, and how we can use some super simple exercises to not only feel happier in the moment but to also achieve a happier life overall. Read on!

What’s the Link Between Laughter and Ongoing Wellbeing?

[image]

The science has been pretty definite on this one for a while. Laughter truly is the best medicine. It’s not just a saying but a scientifically proven way to increase your wellbeing. For instance, laughter helps to reduce stress. The Mayo Clinic in the U.S. has a range of research and writing on the positive effects of laughter for stress reduction. For example, a good laugh can decrease your heart rate and blood pressure, it can also sooth pressure and relieve muscle tension.

Longer term, laughter has a range of other benefits, such as improving your immune system and helping you fight illness. In fact, Ros Ben-Moshe (who I mentioned above), wrote a book, called Laughing at Cancer: How to Heal with Love, Laughter and Mindfulness, in which she describes how mindful healing techniques and the power of laughter got her through her cancer diagnosis and treatment (along with good medicine of course).

Stanford University psychiatrist, William Fry, performed a series of studies over his 50-year career, finding that laughter stimulates the immune system, increases circulation and invigorates the brain. Not only that, laughter exercises muscles, so a good intense laugh can be a form of exercise!

Aside from the physical wellbeing benefits, laughter also makes us happier in the moment – I know, that’s a no-brainer. It does this by releasing endorphins in the brain that make us feel great. But did you know laughter can increase not only your short-term happiness but also your long-term happiness?

For instance, if you laugh with other people, it helps to strengthen bonds between people. When you laugh with others and all get that endorphin hit together, it creates a sense of togetherness. Not only that, but laughter spread around groups. It’s contagious. So having a good laugh around your friends and family will make them happier too. In fact, there was a study conducted to work out whether happiness can spread from person to person and whether niches of happiness form within social networks. Researchers found that:

“A friend who lives within a mile (about 1.6 km) and who becomes happy increases the probability that a person is happy by 25%. Similar effects are seen in co-resident spouses, siblings who live within a mile, and next-door neighbours.”

So, laughing with friends and family strengthens those bonds and makes the relationships more solid – and we know that relationships are a key foundation of a happy life.

Laughter and Your Happiness Set Point

How happy are you, really? Wouldn’t you like to be happier overall? Well, the current thinking about happiness is that we’re all born with a certain set point for happiness levels – meaning some people are naturally happier, while others are naturally grumpier.

Happy events – like a birthday party or graduating from college — can lead to a momentary spike in your happiness set point, just as sad events can lead to a momentary drop. But eventually, we all come back to our natural happiness level, or set point.

So, you might be thinking there’s no point in trying to be happier then, but here’s the great news: you can bring habits and routines into your life that help to increase your set point for happiness – essentially making you happier overall and increasing your wellbeing in the process.

What’s one way to increase your happiness set point? Bring more laughter into your life!

Want more? Listen to our podcast episode: Happiness is Contagious (E8)

Why Not Try Some Laughter Yoga?

Laughter yoga is a new craze that has gained steam over the past couple of decades. It involves people meeting to laugh together, often in a park or open space. That’s it. Simple. It doesn’t (necessarily) involve folding yourself into a variety of pretzel-like poses while laughing…. the ‘yoga’ part is more of a nod to the gentle breathing and movement that accompanies some laughter exercises.

There are many laughter exercises that you can practice at home by yourself, or with family, or friends. Before you start, remember that you’ll need a safe, open space where people feel comfortable and everyone is willing to be playful and childlike, letting down barriers.

Remember that some people will feel uncomfortable participating in laughter yoga exercises, so don’t pressure anyone or force them to participate – particularly if you decide to bring this into the workplace. It should be an ‘opt-in’ exercise, and who knows, once they’ve seen the benefits, maybe they’ll overcome their shyness and join in next time.

It’s also worth remembering that often people need to fake the laughter at the beginning, but very soon people end up laughing for real – it’s all about just giving it a go and getting started.

Here are three exercises you can try:

Start your day right with laughter

Add this quick 60-second exercise to your morning routine to start your day in a happy mood and set the tone for the rest of the day. Laughing with others can be a bit daunting, so this exercise is also a great starting place for people who are a bit reluctant to be vulnerable in front of other people. Here’s what you need to do…

Grab your phone and start the timer. For the first 10 seconds, laugh out loud. You don’t have to feel it, you just need to vocalise ‘ha-ha-ha’ a few times. Think of it like an acting class with really bad acting. It doesn’t have to be authentic laughter to begin with, just do it.

Once you’ve done 10-seconds of ‘ha-ha-has,’ breathe deeply for the next 10-seconds. Repeat these two steps two more times and you’re done. That’s it! It really couldn’t be more simple! The key to this exercise is to commit to doing it every morning for a couple of weeks (at least). What have you got to lose?

Use laughter to bond with friends and family

As mentioned above, one of the great things about laughter is sharing it with others. Laughing with other people is more intense and it helps to bring people closer together (so it’s great for team building exercises). So, grab some colleagues, friends, your partner or the whole family and convince them to join in this short exercise with you.

To start, get everyone into a circle and together take a deep breath in, and out. Repeat this a few times. Then, start moving around the circle to join up with a person. Then there are three steps:

  1. hold their hands or shake their hand,
  2. look them in the eye, and
  3. laugh for 10 seconds.

Once everyone has had 10 seconds of laughter with their partner, they should find another partner and repeat steps 1-3. Keep doing this until everyone has shared a laugh with everyone else in the group.

You’ll want someone to be the timekeeper and keep everyone on track with instructions on when to move on. You can get playful with it. Once everyone is on a roll, try doing a round where everyone has to laugh like Santa (ho-ho-ho), or be cheeky (tee-hee-hee) or put on a German, French or Russian accent, or simply throw in a good snort.

Make some noise and let loose

Ready to really let go? This is a good exercise for groups or individuals. Start by smiling and slowly move onto a giggle, then a chuckle and finish with a big belly laugh. Slowly increase the intensity and volume as you go. Once you’ve had a loud and big belly laugh for a good 10 seconds or so, bring it back down, stage by stage, to a smile.

To get a good benefit from this one, you can repeat this a few times. You can also add some movement into this one, starting small and crouched down and slowly opening up until your arms are in the air, your head is tilted back and you’re standing like a starfish.

Happy laughing!

Want to learn more about the laughter and bringing happiness into your life? Make sure to subscribe to my podcast Happiness for Cynics and my email newsletter for regular updates & resilience resources!

Laughter is the Best Medicine (E64)

by

Happiness for Cynics podcast

This week, Marie and Pete talk about why laughter is the best medicine and try out a laughter yoga exercise you can do at home.

Transcript

[Happy intro music -background]

M: Welcome to happiness for cynics and thanks for joining us as we explore all the things I wish I’d known earlier in life but didn’t.

P: This podcast is about how to live the good life. Whether we’re talking about a new study or the latest news or eastern philosophy, our show is all about discovering what makes people happy.

M: So, if you’re like me and you want more out of life, listen in and more importantly, buy in because I guarantee if you do, the science of happiness can change your life.

P: Plus, sometimes I think we’re kind of funny.

[Intro music fadeout]

M: All right Pete, welcome back.

P: Hi!

M: Hi, so today we are talking about laughter!

P: Mmm, the joys of laughter, it’s fun! Laugh!

M: Just waiting for you to laugh, I’m like ‘he’ll laugh!’

P: There’s nothing better than a good belly laugh I say.

M: So true, where your cheeks hurt.

P: Yep.

M: Your belly hurts but you keep laughing.

P: Yep.

M: I’m just massaging my cheeks at the moment while talking to you, laugh!

P: Your zygomatic bones, laugh.

M: [Sigh] We’re going to hear a lot more about this as you continue your degree aren’t we?

P: Laugh! I’m going to get very specific and very technical about my anatomy.

M: And I’m gonna pay you out for it.

P: Yes, you will and you’re allowed to.

M: Alright. So, last week I did some education as well, and I intended a lunchtime webinar by the Centre for Optimism, they’re based out of the Melbourne.

P: Oh.

M: Victor Perton, who is ‘that Optimism Man’ runs the centre down there and they’re doing some fabulous stuff. So if you are an optimist already, and want to find your tribe.

P: Laugh.

M: Or maybe you want to be more optimistic, I highly recommend signing up and getting access to all of their resources, but also their lunchtime webinars and morning panel discussions and night-time workshops and all the other fab stuff that they run. So, I went to a talk with a panel of experts and it was about laughter, optimism, resilience and well-being. A real focus on laughter though.

P: OK.

M: And I am still buzzing!

P: Laughter!

M: Loved it, loved it and really, for me, it kind of reminded me that laughter is just so powerful.

P: It so is, yeah.

M: And I’ve even run a laughter workshops at Commonwealth Bank ages ago. So I’ve done laughter yoga workshops but I’d just for gotten.

P: Laugh. Well you can, I mean, the thing is that if you… Like anything, if you’re not flexing a muscle, it’s not, it’s not staying awake.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: Things atrophy if we don’t use them, and I really think that this comes down to a lot of the happiness work that we do. If you fall off the happiness bandwagon and those regular things that you’re involved in, you’ve got to get the momentum rolling again and often that’s the point where people choose that it’s all too hard.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: It’s too hard to be positive, it’s too hard to be optimistic. It is [hard], but once you get it going, it’s really easy to ride that curve. I had a similar situation a couple of weeks ago [with] my new position in my new job; where I, I had a huge day planned, I walked in it’s 7:30 in the morning and I’m not a morning person, everybody knows that.

M: Mmm hmm, laugh.

P: People having 8am massages! Really people, come on, get with! Laugh.

M & P: Laughter!

P: This is an evening activity! Laugh.

So, I sort of walked into work well, straight out the back, and then my boss came up to me about halfway through the day and went ‘hello, are you ok?’ and I went ‘yeah, I’m fine why? I’ve got things to do and places to be.’ And I’d forgotten that in the moment, it’s important to recognise people, be friendly, wake yourself up and use those tools of being positive and kind and all those lovely things that come with momentum. And once you start doing it; It’s like if you start the day that way, it carries throughout the day.

M: Absolutely.

P: I’m a big believer in that and that’s why the first things that you do when you get up out of bed should be something that’s actually really enjoyable or that makes you have a giggle. Put on an episode of Disney it first thing in the morning and see what it does to your mood swings for the day, laugh.

M: Well, I have something if you can’t watch a feature film before you leave the house –

P: Laugh!

M: – that might be a little bit more practical for people who are struggling to get more optimism, laugh.

P: [Singing] The hills are alive…

M & P: Laughter.

M: Or I’ve actually got quite a few friends who Monday morning, listen to our podcast and that’s their weekly reminder to prioritise happiness, which is lovely. Thank you guys.

P: Scares me a little bit when they say to me ‘keep going’ and I’m like ‘why!?’ Laugh.

M: The question is, are they laughing with us or at us?

P: Hopefully with us.

M & P: Laughter!

P: Right, so back to the point.

M: So, I’ve known for a while about the power of laughter to moost… moost your bood?

P: Moost your bood, I like that. Moost your Bood!

M: Boost your mood.

P: Laughter.

M: And it’s a no brainer, it is such a no brainer. You laugh, you feel good.

P: Yeah.

M: I don’t have to be a scientist to know that. But there is a science behind it, and it’s pretty definitive science.

  • Firstly, it can increase your wellbeing.
  • It helps to reduce stress.

One of the big ones for all you corporate people or you people starting your massage day at eight in the morning.

P: Laugh.

M: And going is stressed, one of the greatest ways to break that stress cycle is to have a good laugh.

P: Yep, I agree.

M: And the Mayo Clinic in the U. S. Has a huge range of research and riding on the positive effects of laughter and stress reduction.

  • It decreases your heart rate and your blood pressure; and
  • it can also relieve muscle tension.

P: Absolutely shaking, vibration.

M: Mmm hmm, and on that note, for those of you who know they should do more movement and exercise in their day. Did you know that a very big belly laugh is actually exercise?

P: Laugh! Ok, yeah alright I’ll give you that one.

M & P: Laugh.

M: Now, it might not be as good as a million other different exercises.

P: Laugh.

M: But it’s still exercise! Laugh. You could count that in your week.

P: Alright, Alright, like that could be 10 steps, laugh.

M: So [laughing] also has a range of other physical benefits, like:

  • Helping to improve your immune system, which helps you to fight illness.

One of the people on the panel is Roz Ben-Moshe, who is a lecturer and researcher at La Trobe University in Melbourne. She actually wrote a book called ‘Laughing at Cancer, How to Heal with Love, Laughter and Mindfulness’.

P: Oh, I like that.

M: She discovered laughter when she was going through cancer treatment, and I’m not saying that you would replace modern science and medicine with laughter.

P: Mmm.

M: I’m saying, in addition to that.

P: It’s not about replacing; it’s about using with that.

M: Yep, it’s a complimentary technique that can help you get through not only the physical, but the mental part of dealing with cancer.

P: Sure, absolutely.

M: There’s real scientific study that shows that laughter can be so beneficial.

P: Fundamentally, laughter releases dopamine. It’s one of our happy drugs.

M: Mmm.

P: And that’s a big one for keeping the other neurotransmitters going as well. Dopamine, it’s a big precursor to so much other stuff. So fundamentally, at that neuro transmitter-chemical level laughter has a benefit.

M: So, [laughter] is:

  • Releasing endorphins.

P: Mmm.

M: So that again, as we said, we know you’re happier when you’re laughing.

P: Mmm.

M: But you might not realise it also has long term impacts on your happiness. So not just the short term, in the moment, I’m laughing right now and therefor I’m happier.

P: Yep.

M: There’s also longer-term impacts to your happiness. The other piece here is if you laugh with people, then it strengthens bonds. It makes you closer and trust other people. So, in a corporate environment or a work environment, particularly for new teams that are just forming, introducing ways to laugh together as a team will bond your team a lot faster and create more trust between your team members.

P: Mmm, interesting.

M: And the teams that laugh together, trust more.

P: I like that idea.

M: Not just for crazy yogi’s, because we’re gonna talk about laughter yoga in a second.

P: Laugh.

M: So, going back to that idea, though of long term happiness. We’ve spoken before Pete about you’re happiness set point, it’s that point where you tend to come back to after good events and bad events. You just come back to this base level of happiness.

P: Mmm.

M: And some people are born a little bit happier and with higher set points. Some people are grumpier.

P: Laugh.

M: And they were born that way and they have a lower set point.

P: Laugh.

M: But laughter and deliberate, habitual laughter exercises has been shown to increase your set point. So, you’re not stuck with where you are right now.

P: Mmm, we can always contribute to our base level of happiness that’s for sure.

M: Yeah.

P: That’s what it comes down to a lot of interpretation and doing some of the mindfulness work that we’ve talked about out. Definitely, it’s a plus you know, you want your base point to be higher because we don’t want to negate the ebbs and flows as we talked about before, emotions and meant to take us down they’re meant to take us up, but we want that curve to be to be there and riding that wave. But we do want to come back to that point where there were slightly more than being just bland.

M: Yep.

P: Yep.

M: We’re only here for a short time. I want it to be a good time too.

P: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

M: Yeah. All right, are you up for it, Pete?

P: I’m always up for yoga. I’m rather impressed that you’re about to teach me yoga. I’m really intrigued by how this is gonna go.

M: So, I’m going to start by saying that laughter yoga is the new craze that has really gained steam over the past couple of decades. It’s not that new, actually.

P: Laugh.

M: And all it means is people meet and they come together to laugh together often in a park or an open space.

P: Ok.

M: That’s it. Simple.

P: Alright.

M: Doesn’t necessarily involve folding yourself into a variety of pretzel like poses.

P: But I can do that.

M & P: Laughter.

M: So, for all of you like my husband, who can barely tie his shoes.

P: Laugh!

M: You don’t need to worry about your flexibility in order to do laughter yoga. The yoga part here is more of a nod to the breathing side –

P: Oh ok.

M: – than the movement side. Having said that, you can take it in that direction and combine the two.

P: I’ve done a lot of that too, with movement therapy with happiness.

M: Yes.

P: That’s yes, incredibly powerful, actually and that can really shift emotions and psyches and in a really amazingly positive way.

M: Yes, so I would love to walk you through three exercises that I think people can take to their office, to their workplace.

P: Ok.

M: Remember, when you’re doing this, it’s worth reminding people about the actual benefits and the scientific benefits if you’re trying to get them to opt in.

P: Yep.

M: And secondly, if you are taking it to your work, it’s really important not to pressure anyone or force them to participate and make it an opt in because –

P: Laugh! I force people to exercise every day! I’m putting them on yoga mats and saying ‘do this!’ And then they forget them.

M: Laugh. They’re paying you to do that. They’re not necessarily paying you tell them to do laughter yoga in the office.

P: Laugh, true.

M: But it is, [laughter] is uncomfortable for some people to share with others, and they do feel self-conscious about their laughs and about letting go.

P: Mmm.

M: So, some people may be uncomfortable and would prefer not to participate. It’s just worth remembering that so you should do it within close proximity of them so that they see how much fun you’re having and want to opt in next time.

P & M: Laughter.

P: There we go, lead by example.

M: Now it’s also worth remembering in these exercises that often you need to start with fake laughter at the beginning –

P: This is where a lot of people find it difficult.

M: – and after a while, it becomes authentic.

P: It’s the fake laugh. It’s putting the laugh on, and I was going to come to that afterwards. It’s the fake it ‘til you make it concept, and it’s a hard space to do when you’re feeling crap.

M: Mmm.

P: And when people say, you know, you’ve got to laugh it off. It does actually work because you’ll start doing the fake laugh. Then all of a sudden a giggle will come.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: And that’s an amazingly empowering way of changing your situation.

M: Okay, So the first exercise we’re going to do is about starting your day right.

So, maybe could have used this on Wednesday.

P: Laugh.

So this is a quick 60 second exercise that you can add to your morning routine to start your day in a happy mood and set the tone for the rest of the day.

P: All right.

M: So, it’s a great starting place, this one for people who are a bit reluctant to be vulnerable in front of other people. You can do this by yourself in the shower or… I was going to say while brushing your teeth or eating breakfast but…

P: That might be a bit messy, laugh.

P & M: Laughter!

P: Avocado on toast spewed in front of the entire bus stop.

M: Laugh. No.

All right, so I’m just going to grab the clock on my phone and go to the stopwatch. And what we’re going to do is you grab your phone, we start the timer, and for the first 10 seconds, you laugh out loud. You don’t have to feel it, you just have to vocalise ‘Ha, ha, ha.’

P: Ok.

M: And then you do that a few times, it’ll roll from there.

P: Ok.

M: Think of a like an acting class with really bad acting.

P & M: Laughter!

M: So, it doesn’t have to be authentic.

P: Ok.

M: So once we’ve done 10 seconds of ha, ha, ha’s, we’re going to breathe deeply for the next 10 seconds, so that’s probably two deep breaths over 10 seconds. And then we’re going to do those two steps two more times, and that will be 60 seconds.

P: Ok.

M: So that’s it. That’s it. It’s that simple. All right, so we’re going to do it now, we’re going to start timing.

P: Audience participation, I love it!

M: Can you see my phone, Pete.

P: Yes, I can.

M: Okay. All right. Ready?

P: Yeah.

P & M: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…. (10 sec)

M: Take a big deep breath. (10 sec) And I do hope that everyone at home is following along. I really encourage you to.

P: Laugh.

M: Look at that smile on your face, Pete. All right, we’re up again.

P & M: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…. (10 sec)

M: Deep breaths. (10 sec) Last one.

P & M: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…. (10 sec)

M: Alright and deep breaths. (10 sec)

That was a bit quick those breaths and I probably wouldn’t do that normally, I don’t want you to hyperventilate.

P: Laugh.

M: But that is it. That is it. That is all the we’re talking about. And if you’re not laughing at us right now on this podcast, I don’t know what else I can do for you, I’m sorry.

P: Laughter! This’s part of the attraction of morning radio. I think a lot of people use morning talk show radio to try and have a bit of a giggle in their commute to work or first thing in the morning. It’s really important that people try and access their happiness in those first hours when you’re up, because it does set the tone for the day.

M: Mmm.

P: And who doesn’t love driving along and you hear someone say something really stupid and it makes you giggle in the car on your own and then you have that you have a better morning.

M: You do and honestly, my cheeks a kind of sore because I can’t get this silly grin on my face right now.

P & M: Laugh!

M: But that’s it. And if you do that every morning for, I think, what did we say recently? 21 days to make a habit.

P: Yep.

M: 60 seconds is all that takes, and it can really change your mindset and just put you in a great mood for the day.

P: Yeah, it is a bit of a trial, and you’ve got to get, you’ve got to be consistent with it. Like anything, it’s like exercise. You’ve got to be consistent to get the benefits. So if you feel stupid and ridiculous or feel like throwing a small, fluffy animal out the window because you’re feeling so stupid and that’s fine, keep going, keep trying because it will kick in.

M: Yes, absolutely. And again, it doesn’t have to be authentic to start with. Neither of us were laughing authentically to start with.

P: Nah.

M: There were giggles in there, definitely from both of us. And then we went a bit silly. And then we came back, and then we had a real laugh, and then we didn’t. But your body doesn’t know the difference and that’s –

P: Exactly! Yes, you’re tricking your body into the reaction.

M: Yes! All right. So, I’ll quickly go through the last two exercises that I want to leave you with.

So the second one is about bonding with friends and family.

So, as I mentioned before, one of the great things about laughter is sharing it with others. Episode eight we talked about how laughter is contagious.

P: Yes, we did.

M: So, laughing with other people makes it more intense and helps bring people closer together. So, it’s a great team building exercise. So, if you want to grab some colleagues or friends or your partner or the whole family and convince them to join in this short exercise, you will be creating stronger bonds with the people around you.

P: Mmm.

M: To start with you get everyone into a circle and you take a deep breath in and out. Repeat that a few times just to get everyone in a different mood and mind set and then moving around the circle, you’re going to join up with a person and then there’s three simple steps.

  1. You will either hold their hands or, if you’re in a more formal environment, shake their hand, so handshake
  2. and you’re going to keep doing that while looking them in the eye
  3. and laugh for 10 seconds.

P: Laugh!

M: That’s it. So once everyone has had 10 seconds of laughter with their partner, you find another partner and you repeat steps 1 to 3. You keep doing it until everyone has shared a laugh with everyone else in the group. The eye contact is a bit confronting for some people –

P: Yeah, very.

M: – but it’s really important for that bond.

P: Breaking through that uncomfortable silence and that sort of space of going ‘well, I need to be vulnerable here.’

M: Yes.

P: It’s an important part of it, because then you can let go, you can let go of it all.

M: Absolutely, so you’ll need someone to be the timekeeper, and you’ll need to keep everyone on track with instructions on when to move on. But once everyone’s done one round, you can get playful with it. So this is where it gets a bit more fun and exciting. So once it runs on a roll and they know what they’re doing, you can throw in a Santa round.

P: Laugh!

M: Everyone has to laugh like Santa. Or you could throw in a feeling or an emotion, so maybe cheeky laughing.

P: Okay, yep. Righto.

M: Or you could do an around the world round. German laughing, French laughing, Russian laughing.

P: Laugh!

M: Or simply throw in a good snort.

P: Yep, that always works.

M: Yes, so you can have a bit of a play with it and see where people go. And again, it’s kind of like an acting class. Some people really get into it, and that will carry the mood for a lot of people.

P: Laugh.

M: Others will be a bit more reluctant, but if they’re participating, they’re going to get the benefits anyway.

P: Yep.

M: And so the last one and I know we’re really short on time. So, I’ll fly through this last one.

This is about really letting go.

P: Ok.

M: There’s a little bit more movement in this one, so it’s a good exercise, either groups or individuals, so you could do this at work with your family or by yourself.

  • So you start by smiling and slowly move into a giggle then a chuckle and then finish with a really big belly laugh.
  • Even hold your belly and really get into that belly laugh so you’re slowly increasing the intensity and volume as you go.
  • And once you’ve had a really loud big belly laugh for good 10 seconds or so, bring it back down, stage by stage to a smile, and to get a good benefit from that one.
  • You should repeat it a few times, but you can also add movement.

So if you start crouched or small or seated, depending on your mobility as you get louder and get more volume and intensity to your laugh, you come up until your arms are up in the air.

P: Laugh.

M: Your head is tilted back, and you’re standing like a star fish.

P: Laugh.

M: You’re really opening up your body and being big in presence as well as laughter.

P: There’s also a thing about letting the vibration go into certain cavities of your body. So, if you can actually feel the laugh and this is where the visualisation comes into this. I’ve felt this before in classes where you feel visualisation, so you laugh from your toes and you let the laugh reflect your toes so little tiny laugh and you wiggle your toes and then you move it up into your calves and into your knees, and by the time you get to your chest or your belly, it’s big, it’s boisterous, it’s loud. It’s got some volume.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: It’s an acting thing that you do, a warm-up actually, but it is very [beneficial] that visualisation of small spaces and echoing and filling the space with the vibration of the sound is a really good way of doing that same exercise as well.

M: Well, absolutely. And you can take these really simple exercises and create a million different permutations.

P: Mmm.

M: And if these aren’t talking to you, then just Google it.

P: Yeah.

M: Love Google. There’s so much out there that you can learn. Now there is definitely the whole physical side with laughter yoga that this can go to, but it’s like yoga, there are so many different variations of it –

P: Yep, sure.

M: – that it can go in any type of direction. The point is to have a good laugh.

P: Nice. What a nice idea, who doesn’t want that?

M: Absolutely. And now that we’ve had a bit of a laugh, as well, hopefully everyone listening at home had a laugh with us.

P: Laugh.

M: Or at us, either way, laugh.

P: Doesn’t matter.

M: Either way, hopefully you are listening to this in the morning, and it’s going to make your day a little bit brighter.

P: Laugh. On that note, enjoy your day folks and have a good laugh.

M: Bye.

P: Chow.

[Happy exit music – background]

M: Thanks for joining us today if you want to hear more please remember to subscribe and like this podcast and remember you can find us at www.marieskelton.com, where you can also send in questions or propose a topic.

P: And if you like our little show we would absolutely love for you to leave a comment or rating to help us out.

M: Until next time.

M & P: Choose happiness.

[Exit music fadeout]

Please note that I get a small commission if you buy something from my site. Your support helps to keep this site going, at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

Is Watching TV Good for your Happiness? (E58)

by

Happiness for Cynics podcast

This week, Marie and Pete talk about TV watching and whether it is good or bad for your happiness levels. The answer might surprise you.

Transcript

[Happy intro music -background]

M: Welcome to happiness for cynics and thanks for joining us as we explore all the things I wish I’d known earlier in life but didn’t.

P: This podcast is about how to live the good life. Whether we’re talking about a new study or the latest news or eastern philosophy, our show is all about discovering what makes people happy.

M: So, if you’re like me and you want more out of life, listen in and more importantly, buy in because I guarantee if you do, the science of happiness can change your life.

P: Plus, sometimes I think we’re kind of funny.

[Intro music fadeout]

M: Yay! We’re going to talk about one of… I think, a really controversial topic today, aren’t we Pete?

P: Oooh, well it’s one of my passions actually. If I was to be completely full on with my disclosure.

M: Really?

P: I am a TV addict. Yeah. I always was as a kid.

M: I like TV.

P: It’s gone into my adult years and I’m not [Prudish accent] ‘Oh, I don’t watch television, I just read books.’

Boring! Laugh. Give me Disney.

M: Ok, laugh. Fair, fair.

P: Laugh.

M: I have met people who don’t watch TV and don’t have a TV in their homes. And I often, you know, picture them being lovely families who have family dinners without any –

P: Oh, they’re way more functional.

M: Absolutely.

P: Really, I’m jealous. These people that don’t have TV like Jonathan Piet he was the guy in our year who didn’t have TV. He was really clever.

M: Yep.

P: And he introduced me to Lord of the Rings, there you go.

M: Yep, there you go. So, they’re reading books and they’re listening to podcasts.

P: I know, yeah.

M: They’re just expanding their minds and their horizons.

P: Yeah, so good.

M: And we’re watching…

P: Ha, ha!

M & P: Grace and Frankie. Laughter!

P: Oh my goodness, we just picked the same sitcom.

M & P: Laugh!

P: That’s buddies! Laugh. So we are talking about TV.

M: And TV watching and whether it is good or bad for your happiness.

P: I’m open to this. So I’m flying by the seat of my pants on this one. Marie has found some information and some studies on this.

M: Yes. So I put out a newsletter every week and in part of that I do a lot of reading about latest news, and we are going to be talking about one article that came out in Medical Express within the past week by Christian Van Nieuwerburgh,

P: Yes, well done Muz!

M: Laugh, and Kirsty Gardner-

P: See Kirsty’s name is much easier.

M: Much easier, laugh.

– Called How watching TV in lock down can be good for you, according to science.

P: Wow, It’s all about science.

M: That had me, right there.

P: Laugh!

M: I was like ‘Alright, I’m in!’ And also because there’s this part of me that has been raised and brought up to feel guilty about watching too much TV.

P: Yep, I had that self-imposed actually, I was never told that I shouldn’t watch TV. But you know, Jonathan Piet ruined me, laugh.

M: Yeah, I don’t think my parents, you know, we didn’t watch hours and hours of TV.

P: Mmm.

M: I think that this article in particular starts off by putting it in context of the lockdowns and the increase in people’s TV watching.

P: So people are watching more TV in the pandemic?

M: Absolutely and particularly when they go in to lock down.

P: Yeah, that’s understandable.

M: So, you know, we’re still in the pandemic but in Australia we’re not lock down right now.

P: True.

M: So, we’re still in this weird “in between” right now in Australia. But in countries that are in lock down, in the UK, they talk about stats that showed that during the first lock down, UK streaming and TV watching went up by 30% and people were watching as much as six hours of content a day.

P: [Gasp] Oh, that’s a lot.

M: Yeah, we’re judging now aren’t we?

P: Laugh! I’m a binge watcher, but six hours?

M: Six hours a day!

P: Yeah, wow.

M: That is a lot that.

P: Yeah, that is a lot. I need to clean something in between that.

M & P: Laugh!

M: Well, so they looked at TV watching, and I think just like the social constructs that we apply to ourselves, we just both went ‘eeuurgh, too much.’

P: Laugh.

M: Right?

P: But you can understand why though, you’ve got nowhere to go, you’re not allowed to go outside. So…

M: It makes sense.

P: It make total sense, and you’re like, ‘well, I’m forced to be home, so let’s binge watch that series that I’ve been putting off for two years that everybody else has watched and talking about around the pub.

M: Who did that?

P: Laugh.

M: Repeatedly?

P & M: Laugh.

P: I’m always a late watcher of series.

M: Me too.

P: I’m always two years late. I’m like ‘Have you seen Outlander?’

‘Yeah, it’s in Season five now, Pete.’

… ‘I’ll catch up.’

M: Laugh. I pretty much have to wait for two of my friends to tell me that something is good before I’ll –

P: Before you trust it, laugh.

M: Yeah, my time is limited.

P: Exactly.

M: So not only did TV watching increase by 30% but 12 million people in the UK signed up for a new streaming service during a lock down.

P: Yeah, wow.

M: That’s huge. And then Netflix has now more than 200 million subscribers worldwide. So, we’re watching TV. The question that we still haven’t discussed is whether or not it’s good for you.

P & M: Laughter.

P: Well, I use TV to relax. At the end of a day.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: … I’m usually a pretty active person, like I’ll go to work and I’ll cycle here and I’ll play some volleyball, go to Gym and I’ll do some yoga but them when I get home, and I lie on my lovely couch, that TV is on and it’s like ‘yeah, chill.’ And I’m actually going through a bit of a period now, having gone back to university, where I’m physically not watching television.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: I’m like ‘I’ve gotta read, I’ve gotta study’ and even now I’ll pop something on just for half an hour, usually an opposite of Grace and Frankie. That just lets me unwind or something that I’ve watched before that I don’t necessarily have to focus on. But I use it as that I’m doing nothing.

M: Do you have a sick movie? When you’re home sick, and you put it on and you know it’ll be OK and you fall asleep.

P: Anything on the Disney Channel.

M: Laugh.

P: Where there’s singing and princesses and leading men, laugh.

M: Love it. When I was a kid for me, it was always Annie.

P: Ah.

M: Mum would put the VHS in, laugh.

P: Oh, gosh. Yes, laugh.

M: And I’d have two minute noodles for lunch and creaming soda.

P: Oh Ann Reinking. God bless us all.

M: Yep. So we know that TV can bring us positive emotions as we’ve just talked out there.

P: Yes.

M: And that is the first crux of the argument.

P: Yes.

M: That positive emotions can help with mood and can help with mental well-being.

P: Agreed.

M: And this has been researched by a million different people, including, you know, the father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman.

P: Ooh.

M: So, positive emotions are one of the building blocks of our well-being. So it makes sense if we’re going to watch feel good shows on TV that they’re going to give us positive emotions.

P: Mmm. We need the Hollywood happy ending.

M: Yes, so this is the first lesson. What you watch matters.

P: Laugh, don’t watch Russian drama.

M & P: Laugh. Or French… anything.

P: No Chekov!

M: Laugh.

P: No Irish.

M: It matters what you watch if you want a positive outcome from it.

P: Ok.

M: From a mood perspective, and during a lock down we can all use a little bit more positive and a little bit less negative. So, if your go to is war movies or crying dramas, you might want to change what you normally watch rather than decrease the amount of hours you watch.

P: Is there a sort of cathartic experience, though, in that big drama film that gets you absolutely bawling your eyes out? Laugh. I feel quite uplifted after watching something like that, I feel very satisfied.

M: For six hours a day?

P: …

M: Yeah, So I think that.

P: Laugh.

M: I think the everything in moderation thing is really what we’d would point to here.

P: But does this come back also to the argument of, it’s taking you away from your inside head. So watching a film that’s really engaging and truly beautiful, even though it leaves you in a weeping mess at the end of it, does that still have a positive effect because it’s taking you into awe inspiring and motivating stories and gives you an insight into the ultimate triumph of the human spirit?

M: So, I’d argue there that the things that you said before the I balled for five minutes part.

P: Laugh.

M: Were things that are making you feel good and whether that was a podcast that opened your mind to a whole other field that you’d never considered.

P: Yes.

M: Whether it was the theory of relativity or creating artwork on the streets of Chile or whatever it is that gets your attention and –

P: And holds it.

M: Yep.

P: It has that mindfulness moment that we always talk about.

M: Yep, and creates positive emotions and positive emotions for someone like me. I’m very drawn to intellectual pursuits, and so I could sit there and read for hours on end and feel really good about that. Whereas that might be someone else’s version of hell.

P: Yep.

M: Right? So, it is very subjective.

P: So, it’s a personal perspective.

M: Personal thing. But if, you know, if you find awe,

P & M: Laughter.

M: And then have a bit of a cry. But then overall experience it as a positive emotion or a positive experience, then I’d say that could be beneficial.

P: Good.

M: Definitely. So, Barbara Frederickson and again just coming back to this article because I do want to give credit, where credit’s due. We are discussing an article.

P & M: Laugh.

P: We did not write this stuff.

M: We did not write this, we are just discussing the various parts of this article, so I didn’t want to be in trouble for plagiarism.

P: Thanks Barbara.

M: Laugh.

P: We love your work.

M: So, Barbara Frederickson, as mentioned in this article, talks a lot about – and again another bigwig in the positive psychology space- talks about how experiencing positive emotions could have a long term sustainable impact on well-being. So when we feel good, our minds open and our awareness broadens.

P: Mmm. So we start looking for more feelgood.

M: Yes, absolutely. And this is actually pointing to TV being a really good way to cope with the negative aspects of being in lock down or Covid more broadly.

P: I’ll take that as my excuse next time I’m challenged to binge watch.

M & P: Laugh.

M: So, we have also spoken a million times about how positive experiences and good mood impact your body, your physical body.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: So we won’t necessarily rehash all of that. But all of the great chemicals that run around in your brain definitely still apply in this situation as well. So, good for your mind, good for your body.

P: Unless you’re eating potato chips for six hours a day and pizza and not doing any exercise which can happen in lock down.

M: Well, I’m glad you mentioned that Pete.

P: Oh, did I just lead you into something?

M: Laugh. Because there is a big but!

P: Laughter! I could see my personal trainer friends going ‘What!’

M: A very big but that comes with all of this conversation.

P: [Silly voice] I’ve got a big butt, what’s the big but?

M: TV doesn’t necessarily always make you feel better. And there’s a lot of behaviours that come with TV watching, which can be bad for you.

P: Here we go, strap yourselves in people.

M: So, you’ve already mentioned sitting down for six hours is really not healthy, so anything you could do to encourage movement while you’re watching TV is really good for your body.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: So, if you can put a treadmill in front of the TV or one of those little stair climbers or just do squats on the couch, up and down, up and down or calf raises anything like that in ad breaks.

P: The treadmill works really well. I remember when I didn’t have a TV when I first went back to Sydney. I was living in Potts Point, I used to go to Fitness First Kings Cross because they had TVs in front of the treadmill, I could watch The Simpsons.

M: Maybe that is the trick for people who don’t watch TV. They’re all just in the gyms.

P: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

M: I like this.

P: It was great. I never ran, but I’d run for 30 minutes because I wanted to see the Simpsons.

M: Love it! It actually goes to a lot of the research on habit making.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: If you have something that you want to make a habit. Make it about the reward.

P: Yep.

M: Yep.

P: Yep.

M: Simpson’s, I love it.

Okay, so firstly, sitting [for prolonged periods] is really bad.

Secondly, it opens a lot of people up to binge eating.

So when you’re mindlessly watching TV rather than fully engaged in what you’re watching.

P: Mmm.

M: Our hands and minds tend to wander. We call that mindlessly watching. So, if any of you’ve ever found yourself out on the couch watching TV and also writing to friends on messenger or checking your e mail.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: That’s mindless.

P: Yep, and then all of a sudden, a bag of Doritos has gone when you only intended to wait a half of them.

M: Mmm hmm. Yep.

P: Yes.

M: I mean, I’ve never been there.

P: Laugh!

M: All the doughnuts… I don’t know what you’re talking about Pete?

P: I’m laughing, I’ve seen it! I have evidence!

M & P: Laughter.

M: What doughnuts?

P: Gluten free ones of course.

M: Laugh, oh dear. Moving on.

P: Fairy floss.

M: Fairy floss is on purpose always on purpose.

P: Laugh.

M: So, watching TV mindlessly, apart from the potential weight gain implications of mindless TV watching, that is your danger zone. So, if you are just mindlessly moving through channels to pass the time.

P: The scrolling concept!

M: Yep.

P: So dangerous.

M: Absolutely.

P: And you could do it on devices as well, where you if you’re just mindlessly scrolling and you’re not stopping to purposefully read or purposefully watch, that’s the first sign I think of danger.

M: And the danger here is that you are probably doing that at the expense of other things that a good for your well-being.

P: Yep, Absolutely.

M: So, if you’re spending hours mindlessly scrolling to fill the hours in the day, you’re probably not spending time preparing and cooking healthy meals. You’re probably not spending time going out in exercising socialising with friends, whether it is virtual in the current environment or whether it is actually in person. All of those things are really important. And if we’re scrolling mindlessly for endless hours, it often comes at the expense of all those other activities.

P: Yep, I couldn’t agree more.

M: Yep. And a lot of people will do this the most with their significant other.

P: Now that intrigues me, all these couples sitting down on their devices and not actually looking at each other.

M: Well, I don’t know about you, but I get home from work and I’m naked. So it takes an actual mental effort not to sit on the couch with my husband after dinner. Now we make sure we do device free dinners.

P: Yep.

M: But then after that, it’s not like I want to open a philosophy book and discuss Kant.

P: Oh, no, no, I can understand.

M: So, it is that relax time at the end of the day, and I have an early morning routine, and then I do a 10 hour day at work. And then there’s dinner, and you know by the time we’re done with all that, eeuggh, exactly.

P: True.

M: But what it does mean is that time on the couch. You kind of feel like you spent time with his significant other. But you really haven’t.

P: You haven’t engaged with them.

M: Yeah, absolutely, and that’s a really dangerous place for the relationship to get to is where you are spending time together, but you’re not spending quality time together.

P: Sort of explains the whole concept of the goggle box TV show, doesn’t it.

M: Oh, I love goggle box!

P: People actually conversing whilst they’re watching something I actually when I first heard about this I thought ‘Oh how silly, I don’t want to watch people watching TV’, but the actual idea of it is like ‘yeah, it’s actually discourse and it’s families spending time watching TV and commenting on what they’re seeing.’ And you see different perspectives that’s quality time.

M: And sharing in the experience. So that is again, yeah, like you could have written this article Pete.

P: [derisive noise]

M: That is the next point. If you are going to watch TV with someone else, you can make it a social experience.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: So, don’t fast forward through the ads. Actually, discuss what you’ve seen.

P: Yeah, interact with each other. I like that idea.

M: Absolutely. So, I want to ask Pete if you had to recommend some shows for people in lock down that will bring them positive emotions?

P: Ooh, yes. I’m going to show my nerdy side here.

M: Go for it.

P: I got entranced by an ABC TV series called Searching for Superhuman. It was only a very short serious. I think there were only six episodes and It’s all about the body and our awareness and what we’re doing. And, I’ve actually referenced a lot of the research in our previous podcasts, laugh. I’ve gotten a lot of information from there for a while.

M: Nice.

P: Oh, this is good, and this is good.

M: Laugh.

P: But it was a science programme that was presented, and they had lots of interesting interviews and people talking about different aspects of the body and how we’re ageing and how we can age better and what we need to do in the future on what are current risks are. I found that fascinating.

And possibly anything with David Attenborough.

M: Hmm…

P: Yeah.

M: Well, that comes back to the awe factor that you were talking about.

P: Oh, oh!

M: Laugh, yeah?

P: And there’s another woman [Samantha Morris], I can never remember her name. She’s the animal geek on ABC. What she does is she watches all the Facebook videos of people doing stupid things with wild animals.

M: Laugh!

P: And then she actually breaks down what’s going on. And she’s like ‘Look, the sea lion was ready to pounce. He went down before he came up and grabbed that Chinese girl and pulled her into the ocean.’ She’s very funny, she’s got big glasses and she’s wonderful.

M: Love it. For me, there’s some great recommendations. At the end of this article, they mention Queer Eye, which I love.

P: Oh, yeah.

M: I love all of your HD TV kind of home reno/ makeover.

P: That’s teary.

M: It is but in such a good way. And then definitely, Grace and Frankie.

P: Yes, laugh.

M: I always loved big Bang theory.

P: Oh yes, it’s still a go to, isn’t it?

M: It really is.

P: It’s witty humour, it’s written so well.

M: Absolutely, and Sheldon reminds me of my husband.

P: Laugh, I can’t get that image out of my head now.

M: Laugh, he’s a chemical engineer and student.

P & M: Laughter!

M: So, definitely they’re my go to’s. And we in the house have been watching Brooklyn 99.

P: Oh, ok.

M: So that brings out some laughs as well. The other thing I’ve started getting into is podcasts more recently.

P: Mmm, yes.

M: And audio books, so as I said before, I am drawn to learning new things, novel things, and I definitely spent a lot of time doing that during lockdown.

P: I have that in the car, listening to the BBC World Service, that was very interesting.

M: You know what I miss about the state’s [US], NPR National Public Radio they do some really good broadcasting, worth checking out.

P: Ok.

M: All right, well, on that note, if you find any positive programmes feel free to write in and let us know.

P: Do some research, go and spend six hours in front of a TV, see how you feel?

M: Laugh.

P: Write about it, blog about it, let us know.

M: Yeah, write to us and recommend your TV recommendations for positive emotions. But I think the summary of this article, and of everything we’ve spoken about is it’s all about taking control of your TV watching.

P: Mmm, mmm.

M: So being really, aware of your TV watching habits and when they’re healthy and positive and proactive and when they’re not, when they’re just mindless.

P: Yeah, good options.

M: Yep. So, what is the end conclusion? Is TV watching good for us?

P: I’m saying yes, because science says so.

M: Laugh.

And on that note, I think we’ll finish.

P: Laugh.

[Happy exit music – background]

M: Thanks for joining us today if you want to hear more please remember to subscribe and like this podcast and remember you can find us at www.marieskelton.com, where you can also send in questions or propose a topic.

P: And if you like our little show we would absolutely love for you to leave a comment or rating to help us out.

M: Until next time.

M & P: Choose happiness.

[Exit music fadeout]

Please note that I get a small commission if you buy something from my site. Your support helps to keep this site going, at no additional cost to you. Thanks!